Home comfort counts for UMMC and Nadezhda

MUNICH (EuroLeague Women) - There were home wins for Russian duo UMMC Ekaterinburg and Nadezhda on Thursday as the pair continued the battle for top spot in Group B.

Both clubs now sit with improved 7-1 records after beating Perfumerias Avenida and Hatay respectively.

UMMC rode their way to a 74-68 victory against their opponents from Salamanca after Diana Taurasi netted 26 points.

Avenida had initially managed to frustrate the hosts and held them to single digits at 9-9 heading into the second period. But, Ekaterinburg gradually eased away as Taurasi inspired a strong spell either side of half-time.

That gave UMMC a valuable double-figure cushion for when Avenida pushed to close the gap in the later stages, with the visitors propelled by 20 points from Jelena Milovanovic.

However, Avenida were unable to complete their rescue mission and have fallen to a worrying 3-5 in the Group, with much work still to do if they are to live up to their pre-season billing.

In Orenburg, local favorites Nadezhda had to resist a second-half fightback from Hatay to seal a 63-54 success.

Russian winger Liudmila Sapova hit a big triple at the end of the third quarter to help stifle Hatay's comeback bid.

The hosts had looked comfortable at the half-time break and had been helped by the visitors continually misfiring from long-range and going 0-of-15 from downtown.

Yet leading 34-17 heading to the locker rooms, they saw their advantage almost evaporate as Hatay hit back to get within five points in the second half.

While Courtney Paris registered a phenomenal 20 points and 21 rebounds, Nadezhda proved too strong as Hatay dropped to 2-6.

Elizabeth Williams starred with 19 points for Nadezhda, while her team-mate Amanda Zahui was one rebound shy of a double-double after scoring 16 points.

FIBA